7904 


INST.  IND. 
m.  LIB. 


Kaplun 

The  Protection  of  Iiabor 
in  Soviet  Russia 


^  -  c2  ^  -  cr  / 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


SOVIET  RUSSIA  PAMPHLETS.  No.  4 

The   Protection  of 
Labor  in  Soviet  Russia 


BY 

S.   KAPLUN 

of  the  Commissariat  of  Labtfr 


Price   10   Cents 


NEW  YORK 

The  Russian  Soviet  Government  Bureau 

110  West  40th  Street 

Institute  of  Industrial  Relations 

University  of  California 

Los  Angeles  24,  California 


THE  Russian   Soviet  Government 
Bureau    has    issued    a    series    of 
pamphlet   reprints   of   important 
Soviet  documents.     The  following  are 
the  first  four  of  these  pamphlets: 

(1)  The  Labor  Laws  of  Soviet  Russia.  Official 
text,  with  introduction,  by  the  Bureau  and  an  answer 
to  a  criticism  by  Mr,  W.  C.  Redfield.  Second  Edition. 
52   pages,   stiff  cover,   price   10   cents. 

(2)  The  Laws  on  Marriage  and  Domestic  Re- 
lations. To  be  ready  about  September  1st.  Price 
1 5    cents. 

(3)  Two  Years  of  Foreign  Policy,  by  George 
Chicherin.  The  relations  of  the  Russian  Socialist 
Federal  Soviet  Republic  with  foreign  nations,  from 
November  7,  1917,  to  November  7,  1919.  36  pages, 
stiff  paper  cover,  price  10  cents. 

(4)  Protection  of  Labor  in  Soviet  Russia,  by 
S.  Kaplun,  of  the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor. 
This  pamphlet,  an  interpretation  of  the  labor  laws  of 
Soviet  Russia,  is  necessary  to  a  full  understanding 
of  these  laws,  and  readers  should  therefore  order  it 
in  addition  to  their  copies  of  the  laws.  This  pamphlet 
has  never  been  published  in  "Soviet  Russia,"  Price 
10    cents. 

Other  pamphlets  will  follow.  Special  rates  for 
quantities. 

Addresss 

"SOVIET  RUSSIA" 

Room  304 

110  West  40th  Street  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Are  yoH  reading  our  weekly,  "Soviet  Russia,"  the  offi- 
cial organ  of  the  Russian  Soviet  Government  Bureau f 


o.'\ 


The   Protection  of 
Labor  in  Soviet  Russia 


S.   KAPLUN 

of  the  Commissariat  of  Labor 


,<:<^^^^S1 


NEW  YORK 

The   Russian    Soviet   Government    Bureau 

110  West  40th  Street 

1920 


NOTE   ON    THE   TEXT 


The  present  essay  is  a  study  of  the  operation 
of  the  Labor  Laws  of  the  Soviet  Republic,  which 
were  printed  as  the  first  pamphlet  of  this  series. 

The  present  pamphlet  zvas  originally  printed  at 
Petrograd  in  English  in  1920,  and  the  present 
edition  is  a  reprint  of  the  Petrograd  copy,  with 
only  such  alterations  as  zvere  necessary  from 
the  standpoints  of  English  and  typographical 
correctness. 


Jnst.  Indas. 


Ill: 


PROTECTION  OF  LABOR  IN  SOVIET  RUSSIA. 

1.     Protection  of  iJabor  in  Soviet  Russia  before  the 
establlslunent  of  tlie  Soviet  GoAernment. 

The  Soviet  Government,  the  government  of  the 
worlcers  and  the  poorest  peasants,  was  the  first 
seriously  to  raise  in  Russia  the  question  of  social 
protection  of  labor. 

Under  the  Czarist  Government,  which  was  the 
embodiment  of  the  whip  and  the  fist,  all  the  instruc- 
tions and  wishes  of  the  landlord  class  and  big  ma- 
nufacturers were  faithfully  carried  out.^  Naturally 
enough,  factory  legislation  was  in  a  more  backward 
state  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  In  ac- 
cordance with  the  Law  of  1897,  the  working  day 
ofllcially  was  lli/^  hours,  while  in  reality  the  work- 
man was  compelled  to  work  far  longer  than  that; 
this  was  due  to  the  great  amount  of  overtime  — 
compulsory  and  "uncompulsory",  the  latter  only  on 
paper;  —  in  actual  life  extreme  destitution  and  the 
complete  absence  of  rights  of  the  workers  com- 
pelled them  fully  to  submit  to  all  the  proposals  of 
the  manufacturers.  Children  were  permitted  to  go 
to  work  even  at  the  age  of  12;  according  to  the 
law  of  1882  youngsters  up  to  the  age  of  15  were 
forbidden  to  be  engaged  at  night  work,  whilst  dur- 
ing the  day  their  labor  was  not  to  exceed  8  hours. 

Even  these  inadequate  laws,  however,  soon  appear- 
ed to  be  too  great  a  compromise  in  the  eyes  of  the 
"European  gendarme",  and  subsequently  Czarism 
gave  to  the  manufacturers  a  great  number  of  loop- 
holes and  means  to  evade  the  law.  The  first  step 
in  this  direction  was  the  permission  of  uninterrupt- 
ed 6  hour  work  Instead  of  the  former  4  hours  work 
for  children.  When  working  two  shifts  children 
3 


973540 


were  allowed  to  be  engaged  for  9  hours  a  day  dur- 
ing the  two  shifts  instead  of  the  maximum  8  hour 
working  day  according  to  the  law  of  1882.  Night 
work  was  permitted  for  children  in  the  glass  industry, 
although  from  a  hygienic  point  of  view  this  is  one 
of  the  most  harmful  trades;  yet  this  night  work  was 
permitted  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  was  demanded 
by  the  interests  of  the  industrial  magnates.  Further, 
the  factory  inspection  was  given  the  right  t?  per- 
mit Sunday  and  holiday  work  for  children.  Finally, 
night  work,  which  was  generally  prohibited  by  law 
to  children  and  women  could  be  sanctioned  by  the 
factory  and  works  managements,  or  by  the  governor 
of  the  gubernia,  in  all  cases  where  such  children 
were  engaged  in  work  together  with  their  parents, 
that  is  to  say,  this  night  work  became  a  general  rule. 

With  regard  to  the  protection  of  woman  labor, 
nothing  at  all  was  undertaken.  No  care  whatsoever 
was  taken  of  the  sanitary  and  hygienic  state  of 
factories  or  workshops.  In  the  sphere  of  technical 
safety  and  safeguards  from  dangerous  machines,  the 
government  acted  very  timidly,  almost  refraining 
from  establishing  any  important  rules  or  obligatory 
regulations. 

Little  can  be  said  of  the  rights  of  the  workers. 
Absolute  rule  of  the  employer,  endless  fines  and 
impositions,  dismissal  of  workers  without  serious 
reason,  constant  interference  of  the  police,  and  arm- 
ed force  at  the  first  signs  of  agitation  of  the  work- 
ers, —  such  Is  the  well  remembered  picture  of 
Russian  factory  life.  Equally  little  was  done  in  the 
sphere  of  social  maintenance  of  the  workers  in  the 
event  of  loss  of  livelihood.  Social  insurance,  which 
was  established  only  in  1903,  and  was  more  or  less 
developed  by  the  legislation  of  1912,  provided  only 
for  cases  of  sickness  and  accidents.  But  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  workers  were  heavily  taxed  for 
state  insurance,  unemployable  men  were  given  a 
most  beggarly  assistance.  And  even  here  insurance 
did  not  by  any  means  embrace  all  the  workers. 

Especially  important  was  the  character  of  those 
organs  which   were   charged    with    the    enforcement 


of  the  laws  for  the  protection  of  labor.  The  direct 
agents  of  supervision  were  the  factory  inspectors  rr-r 
state  of35cials  who  submissively  carried  out  all  the 
instructions  of  capital. 

In  accordance  with  the  laws,  instructions,  and 
circulars,  they  were  to  work  in  the  closest  possible 
collaboration  with  the  police  and  were  even  direct- 
ly subordinated  to  the  governor  of  the  gubernia 
in  question.  One  of  their  principal  tasks  was  to 
prevent  strikes  and  fight  every  strike  that  occurred. 
The  leading  local  organ  of  factory  supervision  was 
the  so-called  gubernia  board  of  administration  for 
factories  and  mines.  The  composition  of  this  board 
is  quite  characteristic:  the  governor  presides  and 
the  entire  upper  local  hierarchy  are  members  of 
this  board:  the  vice-governor,  the  public  prosecutor, 
the  chief  of  police,  the  chief  factory  inspector,  and 
the  district  engineer.  To  endow  this  constellation 
with  greater  authority,  another  element  interested 
in  protection  of  labor  was  introduced,  namely:  four 
members  of  the  local  manufacturers  and  factory 
proprietors.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  under 
Czarism  protection  of  labor  was  actually  turned 
into  protection  of  capital  against  labor. 

When  Russian  Czarism  gave  place  to  that  miser- 
able miscarriage  —  the  Coalition  Government,  re- 
presenting a  mixture  of  the  big  industrial  bourgeoisie 
with  the  anaemic  middle  class  personified  by  the 
Socialist-Revolutionaries  and  the  Mensheviks,  pro- 
tection of  labor  ceased  to  be  a  scarecrow.  But  It  is 
plain  enough  that  the  vacillating  Menshevik  oppor- 
tunist Ministry  of  Labor,  ever  apprehensive  of  en- 
croaching upon  the  interests  of  the  bourgeoisie,  was 
not  capable  of  serious  work  in  this  sphere.  The 
result  of  this  is  that  for  the  8  months  from  Feb- 
ruary to  October  1917,  only  pitiful  attempts  were 
made  with  regard  to  protection  of  labor,  the  most 
characteristic  of  which  is  the  project  of  "labor  In- 
spection" consisting  in  the  appointment  of  higher 
specialists  and  of  workers  who  were  to  act  only  in 
the  capacity  of  "assistants".  In  every  other  respect 
the  old  Czarist  laws  remained  Inviolate,  and  in  ad- 

6 


dition  to  this,  constant  deviation  was  allowed  In  the 
interests  of  the  bourgeoisie  upon  the  first  demand 
of  the  kings  of  "national"  capital. 


11.     The  Soviet  Goveminent  and  Protection  of 
Labor. 

The  position  radically  changed  when  the  revo- 
lutionary proletariat  overthrew  the  political,  and 
what  is  still  more  important,  the  economic  domi- 
nation of  the  propertied  classes,  and  in  alliance  with 
the  poorest  part  of  the  peasantry  took  the  power 
into  its  hands.  Protection  of  labor  instantly  became 
one  of  the  most  important  and  serious  aspects  of 
Soviet  work.  The  importance  that  was  attached 
to  protection  of  labor  by  the  Soviet  Government  can 
be  judged  from  the  fact  that  on  the  29th  of  October, 
1917,*  four  days  after  the  proclamation  of  proleta- 
rian dictatorship,  a  decree  was  published  on  "the 
length  and  distribution  of  working  time";  this  decree 
instantly  provided  an  introductory  code  of  laws  for 
the  protection  of  labor,  embodying  all  the  old  revo- 
lutionary demands  of  the  working  class,  such  as  the 
eight  hour  working  day,  a  number  of  measures  in 
the  field  of  protection  of  child  and  woman  labor, 
and  so  forth. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  our  industry  has  been  al- 
most entirely  nationalized  by  this  time,  and  is 
administered  by  organs  of  proletarian  dictatorship 
our  protection  of  labor  now  takes  place,  not  as  form- 
erly, in  a  struggle  against  the  big  employers,  but  on 
the  contrary,  in  complete  agreement  and  in  close  col- 
laboration with  the  industrial  organs.  Our  real 
achievements  in  protection  of  labor  increase  in  pro- 
portion to  the  growth  of  the  power  of  the  Soviet 
Government  and  the  improvement  of  its  internation- 
al, political  and  economic  position.  The  Soviet  Go- 
vernment's entire  work  on  labor  protection  rests  on 
the  very  effective  creative  activity  of  the  masses  of 
the   workers.      For   this   reason   our   state   organs   of 


November  11,   1917    New  Style. 
7 


labor  protection  are  established  by  the  Trade  Unions, 
and  are  elected  by  the  Trade  Union  amalgama- 
tions, and  their  activity  is  carried  on  in  close  con- 
tact with  the  Trade  Unions.  Finally,  labor  protec- 
tion in  Russia  embraces  without  exception  all  wage 
workers,  contrary  to  the  Western  countries.  Our 
labor  protection  laws  are  equally  applied  to  large 
works  and  factories,  as  well  as  to  crafts,  to  home 
industries,  to  transport  and  agricultural  laborers, 
to  clerks,  shop  assistants  and  domestic  servants. 

1.     Working  Hours 

The  laws  passed  as  early  as  November,  1917, 
have  legislated  an  8-hour  working  day,  a  measure 
In  its  time  carefully  avoided  by  the  compromising 
government  of  Kerensky,  Subsequently  this  law 
was  confirmed  in  the  "Code  of  Labor  Laws"  issued 
on  the  10th  of  December  1918.*  Overtime  is  allow- 
ed only  as  an  exception,  in  cases  where  production 
is  of  extreme  social  importance  and  when  it  is  not 
possible  correspondingly  to  increase  the  number  of 
workers  or  to  arrange  the  work  In  two  or  three 
shifts.  In  all  such  cases  the  sanction  is  required 
of  the  trade  unions  for  tax  on  all  overtime,  in  ad- 
dition to  which  the  confirmation  of  the  inspector 
of  labor  is  also  required.  All  overtime  work  is  paid 
for  as  time  and  a  half.  In  accordance  with  the 
Code  of  labor  laws  the  standard  of  night  work  for 
every  worker  is  established  as  seven  hours  instead 
of  eight,  but  is  paid  for  as  eight  hours. 

But  not  all  workers  work  eight  hours.  All  mental 
and  sedentary  workers,  in  view  of  the  mental  strain 
incurred,  have  a  6  hours  working  day.  In  except- 
ionally difficult  or  harmful  work,  such  as  tobacco 
manufacture,  gas  works,  certain  chemical  works,  and 
80  forth,  the  working  day  is  reduced  to  7  and  even 
to  6  hours  a  day. 

During  the  working  day  an  interval  for  dinner  is 


•  The  Code  of  Labor  Laws,  as  published  by  the  Commissariat 
of  Justice,  was  reprinted,  with  several  interpretative  essays, 
by   the    Russian    Soviet    Government    Bureau,    Price   Ten    Centa. 


established  at  every  factory,  lasting  from  30  mi- 
nutes to  2  hours,  during  which  the  worker  can  re- 
cuperate to  some  extent.  Every  worker  is  entitled 
to  a  weekly  rest  which  is  to  consist  of  42  hours  con- 
tinuous and  uninterrupted.  Therefore  on  the  eve 
of  all  holidays  factories  are  closed  two  hours  be- 
fore the  usual  time.  In  all  work  which  cannot  be  stop- 
ped even  for  a  single  day  (as  in  the  case  of  nurses, 
engine-drivers,  tramway,  electric  or  gas  workers, 
etc.),  the  workers  are  afforded  a  day's  rest  some 
other  day  of  the  week  instead  of  the  regular  holiday. 
Finally,  in  Russia  for  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  industry,  obligatory  leave  with  the  preservation 
of  the  full  wage  or  salary  has  been  introduced  for 
all  workers  and  employees.  Every  worker  who  has 
been  employed  either  in  one  or  in  several  places  for 
six  continuous  months  is  entitled,  according  to  the 
"Code  of  Labor  Laws"  to  a  fortnight's  leave,  those 
who  have  worked  for  a  year  to  a  month's  leave.  In 
view  of  the  great  economic  crisis,  only  a  fortnight's 
leave  is  permitted  at  the  present  time,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  all  workers  engaged  in  harmful  produc- 
tion, as  well  as  children,  all  of  whom  are  given  an 
additional   fortnight's   leavej 

2.    Protection  of  Female  Labor 

One  of  the  most  important  aspects  of  the  acti- 
vity of  labor  protection  is  the  protection  of  women, 
which  is  an  essential  condition  for  the  health  of 
the  children  of  the  proletariat.  In  accordance  with 
the  Code  of  Labor  Laws,  all  underground,  night  and 
overtime  work  for  women  in  Russia  is  forbidden. 

Particular  attention  is  paid  to  pregnant  women. 
Expectant  mothers  engaged  in  physical  labor  are 
liberated  8  weeks  prior  to  confinement.  Women  en- 
gaged in  mental  labor,  which  has  a  smaller  infiuence 
than  physical  labor,  upon  the  child,  during  the 
mother's  period  of  pregnancy,  are  liberated  from 
their  work  6  weeks  prior  to  confinement.  Every  wo- 
man worker  or  employee  is  fully  paid  during  the 
whole  period  of  leave.  Having  given  birth,  all  wo- 
men are  freed  from  work  for  another  period  of  8 
9 


weeks  in  the  case  of  physical  workers  or  6  weeks  in 
the  case  of  mental  workers,  with  full  pay. 

To  give  the  mother  an  opportunity  herself  to 
feed  the  child,  which  is  of  great  importance  for  its 
health  and  development,  a  half  hour's  leave  after 
every  three  hours  of  work  is  granted  to  every  wo- 
man who  feeds  her  child  by  breast.  Wherever 
possible  nurseries  are  established  at  all  large  enter- 
prises, where  the  mother  is  able  to  leave  her  child  un- 
der proper  care  during  her  working  hours  and  feed  it 
during  the  intervals.  In  a  number  of  towns  special 
"Mother  and  Child"  houses  have  been  established 
where  the  woman  worker  can  pass  the  last  months 
of  her  pregnancy  as  well  as  the  period  of  lactation 
and  can  learn  the  art  of  rearing  her  child.  In  ad- 
dition to  this,  in  order  to  raise  the  general  level  of 
the  life  of  the  mother  who  feeds  her  child  by  breast, 
every  woman  worker  is  granted  an  additional  sub- 
sidy during  the  period  of  lactation;  in  Moscow  this 
amounts  to  600  roubles  per  month.  Immediately 
after  having  given  birth,  a  special  grant  is  made 
to  the  extent  of  a  fortnight's  miinimum  pay  (720 
roubles  for  Moscow)  for  the  baby's  clothes  and  all 
other  necessaries. 

All  this  greatly  aids  in  preserving  the  health  of 
the  woman  worker  and  her  capacity  to  produce 
healthy,  normal  offspring  for  the  proletariat,  which 
forms  an  essential  basis  of  the  building  of  the  future 
of  the  victorious  class. 


10 


III.     CWld  Labor. 

In  all  countries  the  protection  of  labor  and  the 
protection  of  children  from,  the  heartless  exploita- 
tion of  capital  met  insurmountable  obstacles  in  the 
shape  of  private  profits.  Only  the  Soviet  Govern- 
ment has  set  itself  to  the  task  of  actually  saving 
the  young  proletarian  generation  from  premature 
degeneration,  the  effect  produced  by  hard  daily 
work  upon  the  young  and  still  weak  organisms. 

According  to  our  laws  children  under  the  age  of 
16  are  not  allowed  to  engage  in  any  work.  In  spe- 
cial cases  children  of  14 — 16  may  be  given  work, 
only  with  the  permission  of  the  Labor  Inspector 
and  only  in  such  cases  where  there  is  acute  material 
need  and  where  it  is  impossible  to  establish  them 
in  schools,  honnes  and  other  State  institutions.  For 
all  young  children  who  have  not  reached  the  age 
of  16,  and  who  are  already  working  in  factories,  etc. 
a  four  hours  working  day  is  established.  Minors 
(between  the  ages  of  16  and  18)  do  not  work  long- 
er than  six  hours  a  day.  All  minors  who  have  not 
reached  the  age  of  18  are  forbidden  overtime,  night 
work  and  underground  work. 

Children  of  tender  age  (up  to  14  years  of  age) 
who  are  found  working  in  any  enterprise  are  gradu- 
ally withdrawn  from  the  work;  every  care  being 
taken  that  these  children  are  not  left  idle  or  with- 
out means  of  existence  and  thus  do  not  fall  into  the 
hands  of  street  speculation.  They  are  withdrawn 
from  work  only  when  it  becomes  possible  to  estab- 
lish them  in  schools,  in  children's  communes,  or 
other  educational  institutions.  At  the  same  time, 
wherever  a  child  gave  financial  assistance  to  its 
family,  the  latter  is  correspondingly  recompensed. 
In  the  withdrawing  of  children  from  work  as  well 
as  in  protection  of  child  labor,  the  League  of  Youth 
and  the  trade  unions  are  participating. 
11 


Special  care  is  also  taken  that  children  are  not 
engaged  in  harmful,  dangerous  or  hard  work  and 
that  their  work  should  at  the  same  time  serve  as 
a  school  for  their  future  occupations.  The  reduced 
working  day  for  children  and  minors  is  paid  fully 
according  to  the  tariff  scale. 


\Z 


rv.      Sanitary   and   Technical   Protection   of   liabor. 

The  problem  of  protection  of  labor  is  not  only 
the  struggle  against  the  degeneration  of  the  pro- 
letariat by  establishing,  by  means  of  legislation,  con- 
ditions of  labor,  protection  against  overwork,  and 
especially  against  undue  strain  and  exhaustion  of  its 
weaker  elements,  women  and  children,  but  also 
to  effect  real  improvements  and  changes  in  the 
general  conditions  in  which  the  workman  lives. 
With  this  object  in  view  special  attention  is  paid 
to  the  sanitary  and  hygienic  construction  of  enter- 
prises, to  the  housing  problem,  hospitals,  schools, 
nurseries  and  so  forth.  Measures  are  also  taken  to 
prevent  accidents,  by  means  of  a  proper  construction 
of  industrial  buildings,  machinery  safeguards,  in- 
spection of  steam  boilers,   lifts,  and  so  forth. 

It  is  of  course  impossible  immediately  to  achieve 
important  results  in  this  sphere.  The  old  form 
of  production,  which  was  mainly  concerned  with  the 
profit  of  the  owners,  took  no  care  whatsoever  of 
the  health  of  the  workers.  As  a  result  of  this  we 
are  left  with  a  legacy  from  the  bourgeoisie  of  close, 
filthy,  dark  and  technically  badly  equipped  enter- 
prises, in  which  the  worker  daily  ruins  his  health, 
and  which  have  acquired  the  appropriate  name  of 
"exhausters".  The  Soviet  Government  has  com- 
menced a  serious  battle  against  dust,  high  tempe- 
rature, poisonous  fumes  and  gases  and  other  in- 
dustrial evils.  A  number  of  compulsory  regulations 
of  a  sanitary  and  technical  character,  applying  to 
all  enterprises,  as  well  as  to  individual  forms  of  pro- 
duction, have  been  established^  The  organs  of 
Inspection  of  Technical  and  Sanitary  conditions  of 
labor  take  all  measures  for  every  possible  improve- 
ment as  to  safety,  industrial  hygiene  and  sanitation. 

The  housing  conditions  of  the  working  class  are 
closely  connected  with  their  conditions  of  labor,  and 
13 


therefore  the  organs  of  the  Protection  of  Labor 
pay  particular  attention  to  the  housing  question. 
Detailed  regulations  concerning  the  construction 
and  furnishing,  etc.,  of  the  houses  in  connection  with 
the  factories  and  works  are  issued  by  the  People's 
Commissariat  for  Labor.  This  Commissariat  has 
also  drawn  up  model  plans  of  houses  and  separate 
workers'  dwellings,  as  well  as  of  whole  workers'  set- 
tlements where  the  demands  of  hygiene  fully  coincide 
with  comfort  and  economy.  In  the  various  loca- 
lities every  measure  is  taken  to  improve  the  sani- 
tary conditions  of  the  workers'  dwellings  and  to 
reduce  the  prevailing  lack  of  room.  The  entire 
working  class  is  interested  in  taking  part  in  the  im- 
provement of  housing  conditions,  furnishing  etc., 
through  their  factory  committees.  An  extensive 
sanitary  and  educational  activity  is  carried  on 
among  them  for  this  purpose. 


14 


V.     Other  Questions  of  Protection  of  Labor. 

The  above  questtions  exhaust  by  no  means  the 
ma,ny-sided  legislative  activity  of  the  Protection  of 
Labor  organs  in  Soviet  Russia:  it  is  impossible  to  deal 
with  them  fully  in  a  small  pamphlet.  I  will  point  out 
in  brief  the  following  aspects  of  it.  At  present  every 
worker  engaged  in  physical  labor  is  supplied  free 
of  charge  with  working  clothing  made  according 
to  the  requirements  of  labor  protection.  In  addition 
to  these,  in  all  factories  which  expose  workers  to  a 
danger  of  poisoning,  or  where  the  workers  are  sub- 
ject to  dampness  or  filth,  etc.,  special  protective 
clothing  is  supplied.  The  standard  and  kind  of 
such  clothing  and  footwear,  as  well  as  the  category 
of  workers  to  be  supplied,  is  defined  by  the  People's 
Commissariat  of  Labor.  All  working  men  and  wo- 
men engaged  in  harmful  trades  are  supplied  with 
soap,  free  of  charge,  in  spite  of  the  acute  shortage 
of  soap  in  the  Soviet  Republic. 

Protection  of  labor  includes  not  only  persons  em- 
ployed in  the  ordinary  way  but  also  those  who  are 
subject  to  labor  service.  The  Soviet  Government 
as  a  proletarian  dictatorship  which  is  based  on 
labor  makes  an  effort  to  assure  normal  and  healthy 
conditions  for  the  labor  of  those  who  have  been  mo- 
bilized for  work.  Special  regulations  regarding  the 
application  of  the  Code  of  Laws  to  labor  service  have 
been  drawn  up,  in  connection  with  which  there 
have  also  been  established  special  commissions  for 
the  proper  utilization  of  labor.  The  question  has 
now  been  put  forward  regarding  the  establishment 
of  special  organs  of  the  protection  of  labor  in  con- 
nection with  the  labor  armies.  Notwithstanding 
the  difficult  conditions  of  the  present  moment,  the 
People's  Corrkmissariat  of  Labor  is  carrying  on  scien- 
tific investigation  of  harmful  trades.  In  accordance 
with  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Soviet  Govern- 
15 


ment  the  working  masses  themselves  are  attracteS 
to  this  work.  The  Trade  Unions  in  conjunction  with 
doctors  and  engineers  study  in  detail  the  circum- 
stances and  conditions  of  work  of  every  individual 
trade.  At  the  present  time  the  Department  of 
Protection  of  Labor  of  the  Labor  Commissariat  is 
organizing  a  special  institute  for  the  study  of  labor ; 
a  number  of  experimental  laboratories,  clinics  5or 
trade  diseases  and  cabinets  for  medical  statisti'^s 
have  been  established.  This  Institute  is  to  serve  as 
the  first  scientific  establishment  in  Russia  in  connet- 
tion  with  questions  of  the  protection  of  labor,  after 
the  type  of  similar  institutions  in  the  largest  centres 
of  Western  Eurppe  and  America.  The  People's 
Comniissariat  of  Labor  has,  at  the  same  time,  estab- 
lished an  experimental  study  of  the  qviestions  of 
a  hygienic  labor  efficiency.  Fully  recognizing  the 
necessity  of  a  scientific  organization  of  production 
Soviet  Russia  cannot,  however,  completely  accept 
the  system  of  Taylor  and  other  American  engineers, 
who  fail  to  take  into  consideration  the  interests 
and  the  health  of  the  workers.  The  problem  of 
the  hygienic  efficiency  of  labor  is  to  unite  all  the 
scientifically  correct  and  rational  foundations  of  the 
Taylor  system  with  the  needs  of  physiology  and 
labor   hygiene. 

It  is  necessary  to  mention  the  extensive  cultural 
and  educational  work  which  is  being  carried  on 
directly  at  the  factories  and  works,  and  in  the  very 
thick  of  the  working  masses,  by  the  organs  of  labor 
protection.  One  of  the  basic  principles  of  our  work 
is  the  effort  to  make  of  every  workman,  even  of 
the  most  backward,  an  intelligent  factor  for  his 
own  labor  protection.  To  this  end  the  Inspectors  of 
Labor  and  other  workers  in  the  sphere  of  the  pro- 
tection of  labor  continuously  arrange  lectures  and 
reports  on  various  subjects  of  labor  legislation,  of 
the  history  of  the  protection  of  labor,  of  hygiene, 
sanitation   and   safety. 


16 


VI.     Inspection  of  Labor. 

One  of  the  chief  questions  of  the  organization 
of  labor  protection  with  which  the  Soviet  Govern- 
ment was  faced,  is  the  establishment  of  an  insti- 
tution for  the  supervision  of  the  proper  realization 
of  labor  protection  laws.  The  revolutionary  ele- 
ments of  the  proletariat  of  all  countries  have  always 
put  forward  the  demand  that  labor  inspection  should 
be  transferred  to  the  labor  organizations.  But  even 
the  so  called  "Revolutionary"  Government  of  the 
first  period  of  the  Russian  Revolution  did  not  dare 
to  take  this  measure.  Like  certain  Western  Eu- 
ropean countries,  it  considered  it  the  maximum  of 
radicalism  to  admit  even  as  assistants  in  this  in- 
spection, workers  who  enjoyed  no  authority  or 
rights.  These  assistants  had  no  right  to  be 
connected  with  any  labor  organization  and  their 
whole  business  was  to  represent  a  semi-actual  re- 
presentation of  the  proletariat  in  the  organization 
of  the  protection  of  labor.  Only  an  assistant  who 
had  passed  four  months  in  this  unenviable  role 
of  offlcial  and  who  had  by  this  time  completely 
estranged  himself  from  the  masses  could  become 
an  inspector  of  labor. 

The  proletarian  revolution,  of  course,  instantly 
put  an  end  to  this  system  and  realized  the  old 
revolutionary  motto  of  elected  labor  inspection.  By 
the  decree  of  the  7th  of  May,  1918,  the  old  labor 
inspection,  hateful  to  the  Russian  working  class, 
was  abolished,  and  in  its  place  was  established  a 
purely  proletarian  labor  inspection.  The  principal 
decree  was  furthermore  developed  and  supplement- 
ed with  a  number  of  orders,  instructions  and  cir- 
culars. 

Labor  inspectors  are  elected  at  labor  conferences 
of  representatives  of  trade  unions  and  of  factory 
and  works  committees  of  those  districts  in  vhiclj 
17 


they  are  to  serve.  Only  where  the  convening  of  such 
conferences  is  impossible,  do  the  elections  take  place 
at  the  local  trade  union  councils.  In  this  way  the 
closest  contact  between  the  labor  inspectors  and 
the  working  masses  by  whom  they  are  delegated 
is  secured.  The  election  process  in  itself  is  of 
the  greatest  educational  and  propaganda  import- 
ance. At  these  elections  working  masses  beconie 
acquainted  with  the  general  principles  and  practice 
of  the  protection  of  labor  in  Soviet  Russia,  as  well  as 
with  the  decrees  and  instructions,  in  connection  with 
labor  protection.  The  delegates  visit  their  localities 
and  make  reports  concerning  the  conference,  and 
in  this  manner  obtain  the  direct  participation  of 
the  masses  in  the  work  of  labor  protection. 

Upon  his  election,  the  Inspector  of  labor,  though 
directly  subordinated  to  the  Labor  Department 
works  at  the  same  time  in  close  contact  with  all 
the  local  trade  unions  and  also  carries  out  all  the 
instructions  of  the  local  council  of  trade  unions, 
which  is  empowered  to  withdraw  any  inspector  who 
may  turn  out  to  be  inefficient.  The  supervision  of 
the  labor  inspector  includes  all  the  workers  and 
employees  of  his  district,  independent  of  whether 
they  are  engaged  in  small  or  large  branches  of  in- 
dustry, in  private  or  state  factories,  in  civil,  mili- 
tary   or    militarized    enterprises    or    institutions. 

The  labor  inspector  makes  a  systematic  tour  of 
all  the  industrial  enterprises  and  institutions  of  his 
district,  which  he  is  authorized  freely  to  enter 
at  any  time  of  the  day  or  night,  as  well  as  to  visit 
any  place  where  work  is  carried  on,  as  well  as  every 
kind  of  building  in  any  way  connected  with  the 
workers,  such  as  dwelling  houses,  hospitals,  baths, 
kindergartens,  nurseries,  homes,  schools  and  so  forth. 
During  visits  to  the  various  enterprises  the  admi- 
nistration and  owners  of  such  are  bound  to  afford 
every  assistance  to  the  inspector  and  must  not  re- 
fuse to  give  explanations  on  the  plea  of  trade  sec- 
recy, which  has  been  abolished  by  the  proletarian 
revolution,  along  with  the  other  secrets  and  privi- 
leges of  the  propertied  classes.  The  labor  inspector 
18 


is  to  discover  all  the  deviations  from  and  violations 
of  the  rules  and  regulations,  whether  with  regard 
.  to  the  rights  of  the  workers  or  with  regard  to  tech- 
nical and  sanitary  protection  of  labor.  All  inspection 
takes  place  in  conjunction  with  the  representative 
of  the  local  factory  or  works'  Committee  or  other 
analogous  committees.  If,  during  the  inspection 
a  careless  or  spiteful  attitude  on  the  part  of  an 
owner  or  administration  of  the  enterprise  in  question, 
is  observed  towards  the  interests  of  the  life,  health 
and  protection  of  labor  of  workers  and  employees, 
the  Labor  Inspector  takes  the  guilty  party  before 
the  court  or  imposes  a  fine  upon  the  same  through 
the  local  Labor  Department. 

According  to  the  decree,  the  Labor  Inspector 
should  not  only  carefully  supervise  the  enforcement 
of  existing  laws,  but  he  is  also  given  the  right  to  take 
all  necessary  measures  for  the  removal  of  any  cir- 
cumstance which  may  be  a  menace  to  the  life  and 
health  of  the  workers,  even  though  such  measures  be 
not  provided  for  by  the  law.  In  special  cases  when 
serious  defects  are  discovered,  the  Inspector  of 
labor  has  wide  powers,  including  that  of  stopping 
machines  or  engines  or  looms,  or  even  of  closing 
down  certain  workshops  or  whole  enterprises. 
Generally  speaking,  the  Labor  Inspector  is  the 
executive  factor  in  our  legislation,  adapting  all 
our  regulations  and  decrees  to  the  actual  conditions 
and  local  peculiarities  of  a  given  district.  With 
the  consent  and  official  sanction  of  the  local  trade 
union  organizations,  the  inspectors  may  permit,  In 
the  event  of  extreme  necessity,  deviations  from  the 
existing  standard,  and  establish  the  order  in  which 
one  or  another  measure  cannot  be  realized  in  its 
entirety,  is  to  be  enforced. 

The  Labor  Inspectors  do  not  confine  their  activity 
to  visiting  enterprises  alone.  They  are  to  set  up 
inquiry  offices,  where  the  workers  are  given  all 
necessary  information  with  detailed  instructions  on 
all  questions  of  labor  and  social  welfare;  they  are 
to  accept  reports  and  complaints  concerning  viola- 
tion of  labor  protection  laws  and  to  direct  workers 

19 


who  seek  information  to  the  respective  institutions. 
The  Labor  Inspectors  take  an  active  part  in 
the  activity  of  the  organs  of  public  economy,  public 
health,  food  supply,  public  education,  social  welfare 
the  housing  question,  and  so  forth;  they  raise 
here  all  questions  in  any  way  connected  with  labor 
protection,  the  health  of  the  workers,  and  the  im- 
provement of  their  general  conditions  of  life,  and 
directly  participate  in  bringing  about  all  the  measures 
of  these  organs.  Furthermore,  the  Labor  Inspectors 
attract  to  the  work  of  labor  protection  all  the  local 
labor  organizations,  by  reading  papers  on  their  a'^ti- 
vities,  at  the  trade  union  sessions,  at  the  general 
meetings  of  individual  enterprises,  among  the  women 
workers,  among  the  working  youth,  as  well  as  at 
specially  convened  general  labor  conferences.  In  ad- 
dition to  this,  the  Labor  In'Spectors  periodically  de- 
liver lectures  and  reports,  and  supply  the  local  press 
with  articles  on  the  protection  of  labor. 


20 


Vn.     The  so-called  Interlocal  Inspection  of  Labor. 

In  every  country  of  the  world  there  are  a  number 
of  individual  groups  of  the  proletariat  who  are  not 
subject  to  labor  protection  laws.  In  reality  in  such 
countries  the  law  includes  only  the  industrial  pro- 
letariat of  factories  and  works  which  is  best  orga- 
nized, most  class  conscious,  and  therefore  most 
dangerous  to  the  bourgeoisie.  At  the  same  time 
there  is  everywhere  a  large  mass  of  disjointed,  un- 
organized, and  backward  workers  working  under 
bad  conditions,  with  whom  State  protection  of  labor 
in  capitahst  society  has  no  concern. 

In  Soviet  Russia  such  a  state  of  things  is  of  course 
inadmissible.  There  are  no  pariahs  in  our  midst; 
we  are  all  one  closely  connected  single  labor  fa- 
mily. General  inspection  of  labor,  usually  con- 
sisting of  the  skilled  workers  of  large  industrial  en- 
terprises, cannot  embrace  all  the  small  home  In- 
dustries, and  disjointed  enterprises,  as  well  as  those 
forms  of  labor,  the  conditions  of  which  are  dis- 
tinguished by  certain  peculiarities. 

For  this  purpose  in  Russia  there  has  been  estab- 
lished a  so-called  Interlocal  Inspection.  These  In- 
spectors are  part  of  the  general  system  of  State 
Inspection  of  Labor,  but  at  the  same  time  serve 
the  needs  only  of  workers  of  individual  branches 
of  industry,  and  are  elected  directly  by  the  corres- 
ponding trade  unions.  In  this  manner  the  follow- 
ing special  non-district  inspections  have  been  or- 
ganized: of  the  railway  and  water  transport  work- 
ers, builders,  employees  of  the  post  and  telegraph, 
radio  and  telephone  services,  agricultural  work- 
ers, shop  assistants,  and  also  the  workers  engaged  in 
supplying  food  in  the  capitals.  For  separate  districts 
where  the  peasant  home  industry  is  greatly  develop- 
ed, and  also  in  large  towns,  where  there  is  a  large 
21 


number  of  various  small  concerna,  such  as  work- 
shops, hotels,  offices,  cafes,  restaurants,  baths,  barber 
shops,  hospitals,  drugstores,  etc.,  there  are  special 
"small-industrial"  inspectors. 


22 


VIII.     Staff  for  Inspection  of  Labor. 

The  staff  for  Labor  Inspection  acquires  particular 
importance  in  view  of  the  difficult  conditions  of  the 
period  of  transition  to  socialism,  and  of  the  particu- 
larly acute  economic  disorganization  and  civil  war; 
the  immediate  and  complete  realization  of  all  the 
demands  of  the  working  class  in  the  field  of  labor 
protection  is  absolutely  impossible,  and  the  most 
complex  and  responsible  task  of  adaptation  to  life 
of  the  general  demands  of  legislation,  and  the  real- 
ization of  all  that  which  can  be  realized,  is  demanded 
even  at  the  cost  of  the  greatest  difficulties.  The 
institution  of  labor  inspection  is  very  young.  It 
has  not  even  had  two  full  years  of  existence.  The 
political  situation  was  such  that  the  trade  unions 
had  to  give  their  best  men  to  the  war  to  protect 
the  revolution,  and  next,  to  organization  of  industry, 
establishment  of  transportation,  food  supply,  orga- 
nization of  industry,  organization  of  wage  tariff  acti- 
vity, etc.  Yet,  in  spite  of  the  acute  shortage  of  respon- 
sible men,  the  working  class  proved  itself  capable  of 
providing  a  goodly  number  of  businesslike  and  in- 
telligent men  for  this  field  as  well.  And,  what  is 
most  important  of  all,  labor  inspection  almost  en- 
tirely rests  upon  the  proletariat  itself,  which  makes 
us  fully  confident  of  the  stability  and  power  of  this 
young  institution. 

According  to  statistics  for  the  month  of  April,  1920. 
there  were  elected  altogether  405  Labor  Inspectors; 
of  these,  there  were  319  district  and  86  other  inspec- 
tors. The  latter  are  divided  as  to  their  unions  as 
follows:  Railway  Transport — 52,  Water  Transport — 
14,  Builders — 4,  Communications — 10,  Interlocal  in- 
spection of  agricultural  workers  and  shop  assist- 
ants has  only  just  begun  to  be  organized,  and  em- 
ploys not  more  than  6  men  at  the  present  time. 
Qi  the  Labor  Inspectors,  375  are  men  and  30  women. 
23 


We  thus  see  that  in  labor  inspection  a  considerable 
number  of  women  are  represented,  and  it  might  be 
mentioned  that  both  men  and  women  can  be  equal- 
ly true  Proletarian  Labor  Inspectors  and  that  an  in- 
dividual woman  worker  can  freely  become  a  general 
Labor  Inspectress.  The  following  is  the  distribution 
of  Labor  Inspectors  according  to  trade: 

Workers     232 

Foremen    and    technicians 75 

General  clerks        60 

Medical    assistants    5 

Teachers    6 

Druggists     2 

Students     6 

Doctors    3 

Lawyers     1 

Engineers    2 

Unknown     13 

Altogether,  including  foremen  there  were  307 
workers,  making  75  per  cent,  60  employees  making 
15  per  cent,  and  25  intellectuals  making  6  ^er  cent. 
The  class  composition  of  the  Labor  Inspection  is 
obvious. 

As  to  previous  education,  they  are  distributed  as 
follows: 

Higher  Education   16 

Secondary  Education    38 

Secondary  Technical  and  Craft 49 

Elementary    Education    272 

Domestic   Science   Education 13 

Not  known ..... ... 17 

The  latter  category  really  overlaps  with  elenient- 
ary  and  domestic  science  education,  in  view  of  that 
fact  that  it  consists  mainly  of  workers. 

24 


Ages:  Local  Interlocal  Total 

Up  to  20         years   1  —  1 

20^25  "          32  11  ^43 

25 — 30  "         70  18  88 

30 — 35  "         81  26  107 

35 — 40  "          53  14  67 

40 — 45  "          36  15  51 

45 — 50  "          20  —  20 

above        50  "         8  —  8 

unknown                                18  2  20 

The  above  table  shows  the  greatest  number  of 
Inspectors  is  of  the  most  mature  age  and  of  ma- 
ximum fitness,  —  from  2  5  to  35. 

Party  composition: 

Communists    1831 

o^           ^-u^  or  [268  =  66% 

Sympathizers     85  I  '"^ 

Mensheviks     15 

Left   Soc-Revolutionaries    6 

Anarchists     2 

Zionist  Socialists 1 

Bund    1 

Non-Party     93 

Unknown     18 

I  assume  that  the  data  given  above  is  quite  suffi- 
cient to  enable  us  to  say  with  confidence  that  Pro- 
tection of  Labor  in  Soviet  Russia  is  in  reliable  hands. 


25 


IX.     Special   inspections. 

The  Labor  Inspectors  who,  as  we  have  seen,  a.t& 
In  the  majority  of  cases  class  conscious  workers  of 
a  domestic  education  are  incapable  of  realizing  fully 
all  the  tasks  in  the  sphere  of  Labor  Protection. 
Very  often  substantial  special  knowledge  is  required. 
For  this  reason,  to  assist  Labor  Inspection,  the 
Soviet  Government  has  secured  the  assistance  of 
the  medical  and  technical  services.  In  August  1918 
a  technical  inspection  of  engineers  was  instituted. 
In  March  1919  Sanitary  Inspection  was  introduced, 
all  the  inspectors  for  which  were  medical  men.  It 
has  not  been  possible  yet  to  put  these  two  important 
institutions  firmly  on  their  feet,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  at  the  present  time  the  country  is  passing 
through  a  sharp  crisis  of  lack  of  specialists.  There 
are  hardly  enough  engineers  to  go  round  for  the 
work  of  reestablishing  industry  and  transport,  whilst 
the  epidemics  make  felt  the  sharp  need  of  doctors. 
In  which  Russia  was  at  all  times  poor.  At  the  pre- 
sent moment  there  are  altogether  125  technical  in- 
spectors and  50  medical  inspectors.  According  to 
the  general  principles  of  our  policy,  specialists,  doc- 
tors and  engineers  are  more  of  a  consultative,  auxi- 
liary importance,  assisting  by  their  knowledge  and 
special  experience  the  Labor  Inspector,  who  guides 
all  their  work,  bearing  the  full  responsibility  for 
the  condition  of  labor  protection  in  his  district. 

The  technical  and  medical  inspectors  make  a  sy- 
stematic supervision  of  enterprises  for  the  purpose 
of  removing  any  defect  or  infringement  of  laws  In 
the  spheres  of  technical  safety,  sanitation  and  In- 
dustrial hygiene.  In  addition  to  this  they  make 
26 


an  extensive  study  of  all  harmful  trades,  trade  di- 
seases and  accidents  and  investigate  methods  of 
combatting  these.  All  their  work,  similar  to  Labor 
Inspection,  is  carried  on  in  the  closest  contact  with 
the  trade  unions  under  the  latter's  direct  control. 


87 


Conclusions. 

It  is  quite  obvious  tliat  although  our  Labor  Ins- 
pection is  composed,  chiefly  of  the  working  class,  this 
class  was  incapable  of  realizing  all  the  aspects  of  its 
activity.  A  Labor  Inspector  makes  only  periodical 
visits  to  an  enterprise,  gives  orders  and  directions 
but  is  incapable  of  establishing  a  daily  control  for 
their  actual  execution.  In  addition  to  this.  Labor 
Protection  gives  actual  results  only  when  it  is  car- 
ried out  by  the  whole  working  mass  during 
its  usual  labor  processes.  For  its  maximum  suc- 
cess the  constant  utilization  is  necessary  of  that 
knowledge  of  the  peculiarities  of  every  branch  of 
individual  piece  of  work,  which  is  possessed  by  the 
workers  engaged  at  the  lathes  who  feel  the  necessity 
of  carrying  out  the  protection  of  Labor.  Furthermore, 
it  is  necessary  to  attract  to  the  creative  active  work 
of  labor  protection  those  who  most  need  this  pro- 
tection, the  weakest  elements  of  the  working  class — 
the  women  and  the  children.  In  order  to  achieve 
these  tasks  there  are  being  established  in  Soviet 
Russia,  side  by  side  with  Labor  Inspection,  special 
organs  assisting  and  collaborating  with  the  Inspec- 
tion in  its  complex  and  responsible  work.  At  every 
trade  union  from  top  to  bottom,  from  the  central 
committee  to  the  lowest  uyezd  branch,  special  de- 
partments of  labor  protection  have  been  establish- 
ed. At  every  factory  and  works,  at  every  enterprise 
and  institution  numbering  above  15  men,  a  com- 
mission  of  labor   protection   has  been   formed. 

These  organs  vitalize  the  activity  of  the  Labor 
Inspection  by  special  knowledge  of  all  the  pecu- 
liarities and  the  demands  of  the  industry  in  ques- 
tion. They  also  see  to  it  that  all  the  instructions 
and  directions  are  not  dead  letters  but  are  actually 
carried  out  in  due  time  and  without  undue  devi- 
ations. In  the  absence  of  the  Inspector  they  carry 
28 


on  the  constant  control  of  the  supervision  of  leglsla- 
tion  on  Labor  Protection,  and  of  the  sanltary-hy- 
grienlc  state  of  enterprises,  housing,  schools,  hospi- 
tals baths  and  so  forth.  Special  attention  is  to  be 
paid  to  attracting  into  active  work  in  Labor  pro- 
tection the  working  youth,  which  in  the  person  of 
Its  Communist  League,  represents  a  leading  ele- 
ment, affording  a  great  assistance  to  all  the  organs 
of  the  Soviet  Government  by  presenting  an  example 
of  energy  and  Arm  revolutionary  faith  in  the 
righteousness  of  the  workers'  cause.  In  connection 
^yith  all  organs  of  the  League  there  are  economic 
legal  departments  which  under  the  guidance  of  the 
Labor  Inspectors  carry  on  the  Labor  protection  of 
minors.  Moreover,  in  February  of  the  year  we  laid 
the  foundation  of  a  special  institution  of  assistant 
inspectors  of  labor  from  the  midst  of  the  League 
of  Labor  Youth.  The  best  representatives  of  the 
proletarian  youth,  elected  to  these  posts  by  the 
League  in  agreement  with  the  Council  of  Trade 
Unions,  are  supported  by  the  State  and,  thanks  to 
this,  are  able  to  devote  themselves  fully  to  the 
work  of  Labor  Protection.  Whilst  paying  most  at- 
tention to  the  protection  of  child  labor,  they  at  the 
same  time  assist  the  inspector  in  all  the  other  aspects 
of  its  activity,  thanks  to  which  they  continually  gain 
experience  as  fully  intelligent  and  efficient  workers 
in   labor  protection. 

Finally,  every  measure  Is  being  taken  to  draw 
women  workers  to  the  work  of  labor  protection 
The  general  meetings  of  the  representatives  of 
women  workers  of  every  district  elect  special  dele- 
gates who  constantly  participate  in  the  activity  of 
the  local  sub-department  of  Labor  Protection,  visit 
the  enterprises  under  the  guidance  of  the  Labor 
Inspectors,  attend  special  lectures,  and  take  part 
In  discussions  on  labor  protection  which  are  arran- 
ged by  the  Labor  Inspection,  and  also  closely  par- 
ticipate In  the  realization  of  Labor  Protection  for 
women  and   children. 

Thus,  thanks  to  persistent  and  detailed  daily  work, 
both  of  an  organizing,  agitational,  cultural  and  edu- 


cational  character,  we  make  sure  that  protection 
of  labor  in  Soviet  Russia  doea  actually  embrace  11- 
limitably  wide  circles  of  working  masses,  who  may 
be  said  fully  to  have  become  the  "self-protectors" 
of  the  proletariat  against  all  abnormal,  difficult  and 
harmful  conditions  with  which  the  capitalistically 
organized  public  labor  is  connected,  and  which  in- 
evitably lead  to  a  physical  and  mental  degeneration 
of  the  working  masses.  We  have  not  by  far  suc- 
ceeded in  fully  realizing  all  the  demands  of  labor 
protection.  This  is  in  the  first  place  to  be  explained 
by  the  fact  that,  generally  speaking,  social  measures 
can  under  no  conditions  be  fully  realized  on  a  large 
scale  within  one  or  two  years.  In  addition  to  the 
conditions  prevailing  in  all  countries,  Russia  was 
laboring  under  an  uninterrupted  three  years'  civil 
war  and  principally  under  a  brutal  and  criminal 
blockade  of  the  aggressive  Entente,  which  prevent- 
ed among  other  things  the  full  realization  of  pro- 
tection of  labor.  The  armed  counter-revolution 
supported  by  Anglo-French  bayonets,  bullets,  and 
money,  and  at  times  even  with  human  "cannon- 
fodder",  compelled  the  Russian  workers  and  pea- 
sants to  strain  all  their  forces  for  the  defence  of 
the  Soviet  system.  At  the  same  time  the  Western 
European  capitalists,  having  economically  isolated 
Russia  from  the  whole  world,  contributed  towards 
the  extreme  economic  disorganization,  tortured  by 
hunger  and  cold  the  children  of  the  proletariat,  and 
it  is  clear  enough  that  under  such  conditions  not  all 
the  aspects  of  labor  protection   could  be  realized. 

However,  Soviet  Russia  is  slowly  but  surely  ad- 
vancing along  the  road  of  extending  and  deepen- 
ing real  social  Protection  of  Labor.  However  diffi- 
cult the  general  position  of  the  country  is  at  the 
present  time,  the  Russian  workers  nevertheless  lay 
the  cornerstone  of  the  edifice  of  Labor  Protection, 
whose  problem  it  is  to  serve  as  the  temple  of 
healthy,  beautiful  and  joyous  labor. 


30 


Anniversary  Issue 

of 

"Soviet  Russia'' 


On  November  6,  1920,  the  fourth  anniversary 
of  the  founding  of  the  Soviet  Republic,  "Soviet 
Russia",  will  appear  as  a  special  forty-page  anni- 
versary issue,  with  articles  reviewing  the  past 
year's  accomplishments  of  the  Soviet  Government, 
as  well  as  illustrations  and  portraits  of  great 
Soviet  statesmen. 

Those  who  remember  our  Anniversary  Issue  of 
November  1,  1919,  in  commemoration  of  the  Third 
Anniversary  of  the  Birth  of  the  New  Era,  will  be 
eager  to  read  its  successor. 


Price,  Ten  Cents 
At  All  Neiustands 


Soviet  Russian 
Statistics 


The  September  issues  of  Soviet  Russia  will 
contain  the  first  installments  of  a  series  of  im- 
portant statistical  articles  from  official  sources. 
The  first  article  of  this  series  will  appear  in  the 
issue  of 

September   4,    1920 

and  will  be  entitled : 

"The   Organization  of  the  Labor 
Market   in   Soviet   Russia" 

Later  articles  in  the  same  series  will  be  on  the 
following  subjects. 

"The  Membership  of  the  CoUcg'mms"  (the  Col- 
legiums  are  the  managing  staffs  of  Soviet  In- 
stitutions and  Enterprises). 

"The   Collectivisation  of  Agriculture." 

"The  Membership  of  the  Petrograd  Soviet." 

There  will  be  altogether  not  less  than  six  ar- 
ticles of  statistical  nature,  and  one  will  be  pub- 
lished  every   week   until   the   series   is   complete. 

Soviet    Russia 

no  West  40th  Street  New  York,  N.  Y. 


BOUND  VOLUMES  OF 
'^SOVIET  RUSSIA" 

A  few  copies  of  our  first  two  volumes  may 
still  be  had  by  those  who  order  them  in  time. 
We  are  obliged  to  ask  six  dollars  for  Volume 
I,  in  order  that  only  those  may  order  it  who 
really  need  it. 

Soviet  Russia,   Vol  I.    June-December,  1919. 
640  pages  (30  issues  in  all).    Great  quan- 
tities of  original  and  reprinted  matter,  in- 
cluding  many    official   documents.     Price 
Six  Dollars. 
Soviet  Russia,    Vol  II.     January-June,  1920. 
646  pages  of' text    (26  issues),  and  four 
pages   of   half-tone   prints   on   calendared 
paper.   Important  Official  Communications 
of   the   Soviet   Government.     Price   Five 
Dollars. 
And  read  the  current  volume  too.    See  an- 
nouncement on  back  of  cover. 

SOVIET    EUSSIA 

Room  304 
110  West  40th  Street  New  York,  N.  Y. 


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